Thank you for visiting our Turf Maintenance Blog. This site will be used to post updates and information about course conditions. The site is a work in progress and will be constantly changing. Thanks for taking an interest and we look forward to seeing you on the course.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Drought Restrictions: WE NEED RAIN!!! We are expected to officially hit Stage 2 restrictions later today. We are working around the clock to make the most out of our irrigation cycles. Please follow all cart signs and stay on the path as much as possible.

North Greens: The greens survived the hot and windy Memorial Day weekend. However, the 100 degree temps and high winds have taken their toll and our winter grass is definitely fading fast. We are confident that the greens will continue to putt well through the Sunburst Tournament and into the renovation with speeds increasing everyday. North greens will be topdressed tomorrow and sprayed on Thursday.

South Greens: The Emerald is doing well on all of the South greens. We still have a couple of thin areas but the greens are actively growing and should completely fill in soon. We are excited about putting quality on the South and feel that conditions will only get better in the coming weeks. South greens will be sprayed today.

#8 Well: We are anxiously awaiting the test results on the well. I expect this well to be repaired in the near future so that we will have a much needed boost to both of our irrigation lakes. I will post more on this as soon as I have the information.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

We will be finishing the bunker edging on both courses today. In addition, the fairways on the south were mowed, and the greens on the North have been lightly topdressed. This topdressing will help improve ball roll. The North greens will be sprayed tomorrow. Thanks for visiting the blog and check back soon for more updates.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

North Course: Tees, fairways, and roughs fertilized. We will be edging bunkers today and tomorrow. This is an extremely labor intensive task that takes the better part of two days. Please be patient as playing conditions in the bunkers will be inconsistent during this process. Greens will be topdressed, sprayed, and possibly verti-cut later this week. The hot and humid weather is not good for our overseed on the greens. As a result we must take steps to minimize stress on the greens. This may result in slower speeds over the next couple of days.

South Course: Tees, fairways, and roughs fertilized. We will be edging bunkers on the South the next couple of days. This process takes less time on the South than the North, however we will not finish until sometime tomorrow. Greens were sprayed today, and may be topdressed and verti-cut later this week. We also aerated all of the tees on the South. This much needed cultural practice combined with the fertilizer application will help the tees out quite a bit.

#8 Well: We should find out some definite information later today regarding the status of the #8 well. Last week the crew from Peerless Equipment pulled almost 1000ft of pipe out of the ground. Near the pump we noticed a hole in the pipe that could be the cause of a severed power wire. These two issues are the suspected cause of the failure of this well quite some time ago. The pump and motor are currently being tested in order determine whether they can be reused. Hopefully, we will be able to get this well repaired and running again soon.

Friday, May 20, 2011

North Course: We are still trying to "walk the line" when discussing the North greens. We are confident now that the overseed will last through the Sunburst. However, the goal is to have the grass peak at the right time. Practices such as vertical mowing, double cutting, rolling, water management, and the use of growth regulators all increase green speed and stress. We are trying a combination of these practices to steadily increase speeds as we approach the tournament dates. Our primary objective when preparing for any big tournament is to avoid a big change in speed immediately before the event. We have put together a plan using a combination of the above practices that will help us achieve this goal.

South Course: Greens were topdressed and fertilized yesterday. In addition, the height of cut on the mowers as been lowered for this weekends play. Much the same as the North, we have a plan that should steadily increase putting quality and speed over the next couple of weeks. The men's and women's tees on #1 will be open for play this weekend. Please keep in mind that the sod is still very young and will continue to need heavy topdressing over the next couple of weeks. These tees may be closed at times for maintenance and recovery.

Well Work: Many of you may have seen the crew from Peerless Equipment on #8 of the South yesterday. Our #8 well was drilled in 2005 and has not been functional for quite some time. We contracted with Peerless to pull the well and troubleshoot any problems. This particular well is almost 1000ft deep and taps into the Trinity Glen Rose Aquifer. The crew removed 46 - 21ft sections of 4inch galvanized pipe. Initially reports look promising that we will be able to get this well up and going very soon - providing a much needed boost to our irrigation lakes on both courses. Check out the pics and video below.

Friday, May 13, 2011

1. RAIN!!! - We received just under an inch on Thursday morning. This rain was badly needed for both the course and the aquifers. Thursday would have marked the 101st day without significant rainfall for Sonterra. We are very grateful and certainly need more to come. Before the rain, we were just inches from hitting Stage 2 restrictions. It is important to remember that we are still in an exceptionally bad drought and Stage 1 restrictions will remain in place for quite some time.

2. Sod Work - We re-sodded and re-leveled both the Men's and Women's tee boxes on number 1. We also repaired #4 Men's tee, and several other small areas on the course. These areas will be heavily topdressed and mowed very soon. Thank you for your patience as we try to improve the tees.

3. Bunkers- I am sure many of you have noticed that we replaced the sand in both of the practice bunkers (driving range and chipping green)

4. Greens - We are confident that the North greens are going to survive until the renovation. The South greens have completely healed from aeration. Both courses have slow greens today due to the rain. However, speeds will steadily increase over the next couple of weeks.

5. North Greens Renovation - We are currently finalizing all the detail pertaining the renovation. We have decided on the contractor, grass (Mini-Verde), and sand supplier. We are now waiting on some permitting issues to be resolved so that we can make everything official. I will be posting much more on the renovation in the coming weeks and all throughout the project.

6. Divot Filling Party- The divot filling party on Good Friday was a huge success. Thank you to everyone who came and helped out. The USGA published a short article on the party which was sent out to over 10,000 golf courses nation wide. To view the article click here: The Green Section Record May 6

Friday, May 6, 2011

Drought Conditions: 86 DAYS! without measurable rain. With no rain in the forecast it appears obvious that we will hit Stage 2 restrictions in the next 5 to 10 days.

South Course: Greens have healed nicely from last weeks aeration. In order to expedite the healing process the greens were topdressed twice this week and fertilized yesterday. Overall the greens on the South are doing well. Next week, we will begin pushing them a little bit harder. I predict that in the next two to three weeks they will be putting much better. We are also looking into re-sodding a few of the tee boxes on the South. We are considering the back tees on 1 and 4. Work on these tees may begin very soon.

North Course: Greens are hanging on! The overseed is still doing well, and there is a lot of champion coming through. I predict that the greens will still be putting well in time for the Sunburst. We have recently minimized all rolling and double cutting on the North Greens. This will help eliminate stress and help the grass make the final push.

North Renovation Project: I will post more on this later, however I just wanted to provide a brief update.

1. Final decisions on contractor will be made today
2. We are planting Mini-Verde Ultradwarf bermuda
3. The sand will come from Osburn Materials in San Antonio - (we are waiting for more test results to determine the exact sand)
4. The greens will be cored out to a depth of 6"
5. Contours and perimeters will stay the same
6. Construction process will start on June 13th
7. Planting will begin on July 1
8. Grow-in from July 1 to Sept. 15
9. Sept. 15 - Re-Open
10. Hopefully mother nature cooperates

Thank you for visiting my blog. I will return to posting more frequently when my new computer arrives.

Mike Mccarty

Assistant Superintendent

Isidro Moreno

Assistant Superintendent

Gary Tupa (left)

Horticulturalist

WEST NILE UPDATE

Many members and residents have voiced concern over mosquitos potentially carrying West Nile Virus on or near the golf courses. As of last week all lakes an ponds on the North Course have been treated with a safe and effective larvicide. This product works by killing mosquito larvae before than can reach the adult stage. This product will definately aid in controlling moquitos on the course, and is effective for about 120 days. It will not eliminate mosquitos on the course. The best way to protect yourself from mosquitos and West Nile is to apply insect repellents containing "deet" anytime that you will be outdoors.

Drought Cart Traffic

There is no doubt that golf carts negatively impact course conditions. This is especially true when the grass is stressed from drought. Please try and abide by the following guidlines: 1. Follow cart signs, ropes, and stakes 2. Avoid driving in worn or thin areas 3. Don't take the same path that everyone else does 4. Try and pair up. - NO excuse for a foursome with four carts 5. Stay on the path as much as possible - Particulary around tees and greens Together we can make a big difference in course conditions by managing cart traffic.